Fast food chain Wendy's has taken a sarcastic swipe at pop star Katy Perry after she completed a space flight, sparking a backlash.
The row began on Monday, April 14, when Katy Perry and the first all-female crew in 60 years successfully completed a flight to the edge of space. On X, the Pop Crave account posted a congratulatory message for Katy's return, but the Wendy's account commented: "Can we send her back?"
Not stopping there, the famous food brand's account continued to mock the image of Katy Perry kissing the ground after successfully landing. "I kissed the ground, and I like it," Wendy wrote, mocking the lyrics in Katy Perry's hit song I Kissed a Girl. "When we say women learn STEM, this is not what we mean," the account wrote.
According to People, Wendy's harsh social media posts divided fans and attracted a lot of criticism. Their tweets also caused a more tense conflict between Katy Perry and singer Kesha, who criticized Katy for collaborating with Dr. Luke, the rapper Kesha accused of sexual abuse. On X, Kesha posted a selfie smiling with a milkshake from this chain, which is believed to support the tweets attacking Katy Perry.
Wendy's public comments mocking Katy Perry were hostile and hurtful, sources told Page Six. "We understand that people on the Internet like to joke, but there is a clear difference between humor and intentional hostility. This was not a harmless joke," a source close to Perry and the space team said.
The person said that a billion-dollar brand using its platform to publicly degrade a woman was disrespectful and completely inappropriate. "Wendy's may think they are being clever or witty, but they are actually fostering a culture of online bullying that everyone agrees has gone too far," the source said.
People also quoted another comment that said the tweet was not just a joke but was openly demeaning to women: "Telling a woman that she should be 'sent back' is shameful bullying and reflects the destructive attitude in today's society. People expect more from a brand like this. Wendy's should 'do the right thing' (the name of one of the brand's core values), apologize, and do better in the future."
When the magazine contacted Wendy's about the scandal, the brand refused to apologize, instead responding: "We always bring a little spice to the discussion, but Wendy's has great respect for Katy Perry and her incredible talent."
Katy Perry has remained silent on Wendy's comments and the comments mocking her flight. Meanwhile, Lauren Sanchez, the fiancée of billionaire Jeff Bezos, who accompanied Katy Perry on the flight, made it clear that she was not impressed by the online trolling. Lauren told People: "I would love for them to come to Blue Origin and see the thousands of people who not only work here but who put their hearts and souls into this ship. Come with me, I'll show you what this is, and it's really eye-opening."
Journalist Gayle King, 70, also defended her space exploration with the five daring women. "We've repeated the same trajectory that Alan Shepard did before. No one calls it a 'trip'. It's called a flight and a journey. What we did was not frivolous."
Gayle King, Lauren Sanchez, Katy Perry, Vietnamese-American human rights activist Amanda Nguyen, former NASA engineer Aisha Bowe, and film producer Kerianne Flynn became the first women to fly into space since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova made a solo flight in 1963. The rocket took them across the Kármán line, more than 100 km above the Earth's surface, which is described as the threshold to space. The astronauts experienced a few minutes of weightlessness and looked out over the blue planet. Katy Perry brought a daisy to honor her daughter Daisy and the life of the Earth. She sang Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World while floating in the ship. The 11-minute journey was broadcast live on the platforms of private aerospace company Blue Origin.